Pokémon GO ‘AWAY’

This latest Pokémon craze has me baffled to say the least. I grew up with it being a thing and while my peers were all about it, I was never really into it. I collected a couple of cards and I watched a couple of episodes, but it became old relatively fast and that was that.

Now all of a sudden it’s making a comeback? It’s bad enough that we’re allowing horrible fashion trends to reappear from the past; now this? Not everything that we throw away or shove deep into the darkness of our attics is meant to come back new and shiny just because a lot of time passed. Some things are done and forgotten about for a reason. Just because you can take a classic 1962 vehicle, refresh the paint job and buff it up a little to look like new, doesn’t mean that you can do the same thing to your ripped up and stained polyester T-shirt. The car was once decent; you have something to work with. Your T-shirt however was shitty from the start; as was the whole Pokémon thing.

However, listening to the latest buzz and reading everything social media has to say about it, I realized I stand alone on this matter. My opinion is ostracized like a weird kid in middle school; it’s shoved into the dusty attic along with all the other old toys and trends that have yet to resurface.

Everyone seems to be super excited about this new virtual reality that they can be a part of. Businesses are booming as they can now buy “lures” to get people to come into their establishments where the owners can proceed to tempt them to stay for a drink or two while they are on the hunt for their digital ‘friends’.

Pokémon games have been proclaimed “The Future” of today’s generation. That’s one scary thought; like we don’t have enough digital devices taking over our health and social lives already.

What’s the deal, people? You’ve finally decided to get out of your parents’ basements and step away from World of Warcraft as you stretch your joints and crawl out onto the streets? You finally got up off your couch and instead of finishing that bag of chips, went to your local bar that might have a Pokémon there waiting for you? You must think this game is causing you to be so very interactive; you’re getting out and “doing things” instead of sitting at home. Reality check – you’re still living your life through a screen; except now it’s that of your phone instead of your plasma. Not to mention, every time you’re stopping in the middle of a sidewalk to catch Squiratlittle or whatever, you’re causing traffic. You “gotta catch ‘em all!“ – I get it. Honestly, I wish you would already… So you can peacefully retreat back into your dungeon and I can enjoy my favorite spots again without witnessing this digital new-age horror.